Siege of Acre (1799)

The Siege of Acre (late April 1799) was a major battle of the Egyptian Campaign of the French Revolutionary Wars. The French general Napoleon Bonaparte, having just taken Jaffa from the Ottoman Empire, planned to conquer Acre to buy his army enough time to reorganize and make ready for the impending Ottoman invasion. Bonaparte's 866-strong French army advanced on Acre, surprisingly defended by just 645 troops under Davud Ismail, and the French stormed the old fortress city. The French took the walls after fierce bayonet melee, and few gunshots were fired in the battle; much of it was fought with hand-to-hand combat. The French secured Acre with 237 losses, and those men still able to work set up defenses as the French prepared to fight off any incursions.